Bhubaneswar, July 14 (IANS) Odisha Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Tuesday unveiled the guidelines for implementing ‘Gyanodaya – Shikshya Ru Samruddhi’, a flagship initiative offering free education from kindergarten (KG) to postgraduate (PG) level.

 

Speaking during a press conference on the occasion, Minister Suraj said that many students in the state are found unable to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. He said that after taking charge of the Higher Education Department, the state government was most concerned about the rising dropout rate in the state, Odisha's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) being below the national average, and its inability to retain students.

 

“One conclusion that emerged was that higher education should be made accessible to all. The main objective behind the initiative to make education free from KG to PG is to ensure that no one is deprived of basic higher education,” the minister added.

 

Outlining the guidelines of the initiative, he said that these instructions will be shared with all the educational institutions under the higher education department across the state. According to the scheme guidelines, the initiative seeks to ensure that no eligible student is deprived of education due to financial constraints while promoting inclusive and equitable access to higher education.

 

The minister stated that under the scheme, students getting admission in regular undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered by State Public Universities, Government Colleges and non-government aided colleges under the 488 and 662 grant-in-aid categories are not required to pay any fees.

 

The scheme, implemented by the Higher Education Department, aims to remove financial barriers to education, improve student retention, and reduce dropout rates in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

 

The minister also expressed confidence that the ‘Gyanodaya – Shikshya Ru Samruddhi’ initiative would help achieve the target of raising Odisha's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) to 60 per cent, as envisaged under Odisha Vision 2036 and Vision 2047.

 

However, it will not apply to self-financing courses, unaided private institutions, distance and open learning programmes, or professional courses such as MBA, MCA, BBA, BCA, B.Ed., LL.B., LL.M. and other similar programmes.

 

To avail of the benefits, students must secure admission through the Student Academic Management System (SAMS) portal and maintain at least 75 per cent attendance. The attendance requirement may be relaxed to 65 per cent in exceptional cases.

 

The benefit will be available only once for a student’s first admission to either an undergraduate or postgraduate programme. He also stated that under the scheme, the state government will bear admission and readmission fees, development fees and other charges collected at the time of admission. However, students will continue to pay examination fees to retain the seriousness of the examinations among the students.

 

The government has also put in place a fee regulation mechanism under which institutions cannot revise admission-related fees without approval from the State Fee Regulation Committee. Only the fee structure uploaded on the SAMS portal before the admission process will be considered for reimbursement.

 

He also asserted that Odisha is the first state to implement free education from KG to PG under the 'Gyanodaya – Shikshya Ru Samruddhi' scheme.